Virgin At 25-Chapter 98: UNINTERESTED AND MISSING!

THIRD PERSON POV

Maxie barely had time to register the sharp pain in Marcus’ side before Ryan’s car screeched to a halt beside them.

"Maxie!" he yelled as he jumped out, scanning the street like a predator.

She pointed toward Marcus, who was lying on the ground, blood seeping through his shirt.

Ryan’s jaw tightened. "Get him in the car. Now."

With trembling hands, Maxie helped Marcus into the backseat. Ryan drove like a man possessed, tires squealing against the asphalt, weaving through streets as if the world itself were trying to slow them down.

Marcus groaned weakly, clutching his side. "Maxie... Sharon..."

She shook her head violently, tears blurring her vision. "I... I can’t... you are hurt!"

Ryan didn’t answer, eyes fixed on the road. The only sounds were the whine of the engine and Marcus’ shallow gasps.

At the hospital, chaos greeted them. Nurses and doctors rushed to the emergency room. Maxie followed closely, almost in a daze, as Marcus was wheeled away on a stretcher.

"Where is Sharon?" Marcus whispered, his voice barely audible over the commotion.

Maxie’s heart clenched. She couldn’t answer. Not now. Her mind was torn in two.

Ryan placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "She’ll be alright... we’ll find her. But right now... we save him first."

Maxie nodded, numb, watching as Marcus disappeared behind the ER doors. The weight of the photograph, the parcel, the screams, and the truth about Sharon... all of it pressed down on her like a storm she couldn’t escape.

Meanwhile, miles away, the Langley estate loomed, quiet and imposing in the night. Inside, the tension was electric.

Victor Langley stood rigid in the middle of his room, fists clenched on the mahogany desk. Camila Langley paced before him, her heels clicking sharply against the polished floor.

"This is getting out of hand, Victor," she snapped, her voice cutting like glass. "Diana is stronger than we expected. You’re losing control, and you know it."

Victor’s jaw was tight. His eyes were storm clouds, dark and calculating. "We forced her into that marriage for a reason, Camila. You know the reason."

Camila stopped mid-step, her hands on her hips. "And you think I don’t? Diana’s already pushing boundaries we set decades ago. If she finds out..."

Victor’s hand slammed on the desk. The sound echoed like a warning. "She cannot know. Not yet. Not a thing. That secret... that is why we orchestrated the marriage between her and Aec. She must stay unaware, or she gains more control than we can handle. More control than even we have now."

Camila’s lips thinned, her gaze narrowing. "And if she does find out? Everything we’ve built... everything we hold... will be hers."

Victor’s eyes burned. "Exactly. She’s dangerous, Camila. She doesn’t even know the full extent of it, and if she ever does..." His voice dropped to a low, lethal whisper. "We lose her. Completely."

The room fell silent. The only sound was the distant hum of the estate, the quiet before the inevitable storm.

Camila exhaled sharply. "So... we keep her in the dark. We manipulate. We control. And we hope she doesn’t figure it out before the time is right."

Victor’s gaze softened just a fraction, but only for a heartbeat. "It’s the only way. Until then... we watch. And we wait." 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Outside, the night pressed against the estate walls like a living thing, dark and unyielding. Somewhere, Sharon’s fate teetered on a knife’s edge, unknown to the very people who sought to control her.

And deep inside, Diana’s shadow loomed larger than ever, a force neither Victor nor Camila fully understood or dared challenge.

"Is Aec still in the study?" Victor asked suspiciously, looking seriously at Camila

Camila just looked at him blank... "I don’t know, don’t ask me"

She walked out, heading to the restroom

Victor Langley abruptly stormed through the corridors of the estate, his long coat flaring behind him.

He reached his study and yanked the door open, only to freeze.

The chair where Aec had been tied sat empty. The ropes were gone. The faint marks on the floor hinted that someone had been there... but Aec was gone.

Victor’s hands slammed against the desk, rattling papers. "What the hell is this?!" His voice roared through the study like thunder.

He spun around, phone already in hand. "All units! Report to the estate immediately! Now!"

No response.

Victor’s eyes narrowed. He dialed again, faster this time. Silence.

"Camila!" he barked into the phone when she finally picked up.

"Yes?" Her tone was calm, almost irritatingly so.

"Where are the men? The security? The entire household?!" His voice cracked with barely-contained rage.

"I sent them home," Camila replied evenly, as if it were the most reasonable thing in the world. "I told them to leave everything else to me."

Victor’s jaw clenched, his grip on the phone tightening until his knuckles whitened. "You sent them home? When? Why?!"

"Hours ago," she said smoothly. "I didn’t want them interfering. We’ve handled things like this before, Victor. They aren’t needed right now."

Victor’s teeth ground together. "Handled things? What the hell are you talking about?!"

Before she could answer, Victor’s eyes flicked toward the door as he remembered Mrs. Venn. He grabbed the old housekeeper by the arm and spun her around, pinning her gently but firmly against the wall.

"Where is Aec?!" he demanded, his voice low but lethal.

Mrs. Venn’s eyes widened, fear fluttering across her face. "Master Victor... I... I don’t know. I swear I don’t know anything! I’ve been tending to the house... the men... I didn’t see... anyone..."

Victor’s hand dropped slightly, but his eyes never left hers. "Not one word of this is useful. Are you hiding something?"

She shook her head violently. "No, Master Victor! I swear! I... I don’t know!"

Victor released her with a frustrated exhale, storming past her, his mind racing. Every instinct screamed that this wasn’t random. Someone had been here while he was away.

And then it clicked... Tory.

"Sir Tory came around when you were absent" Mrs Venn spat out of fear

Victor’s phone buzzed again. Camila’s name lit up the screen. He answered, tone sharp. "Camila. Tory came here."

There was a pause on the line. Then she said, carefully measured, "Yes... he did. While you and the men were gone. I... I didn’t expect him. But he left before anything happened."

Victor slammed the phone down, pacing the room. His mind churned, his anger mixing with disbelief. Tory. The outcast. The child that didn’t belong. The one they never trusted... had walked into his house undetected.

And Aec? Still missing.

Victor clenched his fists so tightly he thought his nails might break. Every plan unraveling. Every carefully constructed layer of control slipping through his fingers.

He turned toward the door again, furious, determined. Whoever was responsible, whoever had orchestrated this, he would find them. And they would pay.

The estate was quiet again, deceptively calm, but the storm inside Victor was a hurricane, ready to destroy anyone who stood in his way.

Victor’s fists slammed against the desk again, the anger in him a living thing, writhing and snapping at every nerve.

He grabbed his phone, dialing his driver without hesitation.

"Get some of the men, anyone you can spare and start searching the estate. Every room. Every corridor. Now!" His voice was sharp, unyielding.

"Yes, sir," came the quick, obedient reply.

Victor’s gaze flicked toward Camila, who just got down to the living room too, sharp as a knife. "Call Diana. Ask her if she’s seen Aec. Make it quick."

Camila’s fingers moved over her phone with practiced precision. She finished, lowering it just slightly.

"He’s not with her," she said calmly, but her tone held a quiet sting.

Victor’s jaw clenched. "Then call Tory. I want to know if he’s..."

"WHAT?!" Camila’s voice exploded like a storm. She slammed her hand on the table, eyes blazing. "You are seriously going to accuse my son?! Tory has no interest... NO INTEREST, in any of the family affairs, Victor! And you think he’d sneak into your study, take Aec...?!"

Victor didn’t flinch. He stared at her, unwavering. "I am not accusing anyone blindly, Camila. I want answers. You are going to call him. Now."

Camila’s nostrils flared, anger mixing with disbelief. "No. You listen to me carefully. Tory isn’t involved in any of this. You know it, I know it and I will NOT let you treat him as if he’s some... some pawn in your games!"

Victor’s eyes narrowed, his temper coiling like a spring ready to snap. "I don’t care about games right now. I care about finding Aec before this spirals completely out of control. If your son has nothing to do with it, then it won’t hurt to ask. Just call him."

Camila’s hands trembled slightly, fury giving way to tension. She leaned back, glancing at him like she might explode or walk out. Finally, she huffed and pulled out her phone.

"I’ll call him, and his your son too" she said, teeth gritted. "But don’t, don’t you dare blame him if he says nothing!"

Victor’s expression hardened. "I’m not blaming anyone yet. I’m searching. That’s all."

The room fell into a tense silence. Phones clicked, fingers tapped. Outside, the estate hummed with a calm that was entirely deceptive. Inside, the storm of Langley control was cracking, and every second Aec remained missing twisted that storm tighter.